Litigant Awarded Fees Did Prevail Under CCP §§ 874.010/874.040 And Civil Code Section 1717.
In Shadab v. Goldberg, Case No. B277925 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Aug. 22, 2018) (unpublished), one side won a partition by sale of undeveloped land, with the trial court eventually awarding attorney’s fees of $99,761.46 after finding the fee claimant “prevailed” under both a purchase agreement fees clause (Civil Code section 1717) and partition fees and allocation statutes (Code of Civil Procedure sections 874.010 and 874.040). The appellate court affirmed the fee and costs awards. The losing side had a disorganized trial presentation and was obstructionist in nature, both client and counsel. Fee claimant won all that she sought, so sustaining the result below seemed easy for the reviewing court.